Faruqi & Faruqi wins appeal in First Circuit, In re LoEstrin 24 FE Antitrust Litigation.

The United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit reversed the grant of a motion to dismiss a complaint alleging a violation of the Sherman Act arising from a reverse payment agreement in a pharmaceutical patent litigation, In re LoEstrin 24 FE Antitrust Litigation.  The First Circuit held that an agreement by a brand pharmaceutical company to delay launching its own authorized generic of LoEstrin 24 Fe, and thus not compete against a generic company in exchange for an agreement by the generic company to quit its challenge to the brand patent and to delay its entry into the market, can constitute a large reverse payment in violation of the Sherman Act.  The case has been remanded to the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island.   Faruqi & Faruqi is co-lead counsel in the matter on behalf of a putative class of direct purchasers.